Killing off the libraries

awesome… I used to love the laundry, upstairs is small but good for an intimate crowd.. and the espy is fantastic as well..

hehe nah not rich.. not even close i do manage my money well though.. so I do buy a lot of books.. the most recent being a book on the excavation of the hobbit in flores indonesia..

The point I was trying to make though is that if people aren’t using the library then it is a waste.. what would be good is if they consolidated the libraries and made a super library with a huge range of books and other research facilites available..

AD you are filthy rich or you don’t read much.

In any case not all books are available in shops – there is quite a gap between new releases and classics.

Libraries are a very useful service for all sorts of people beyond 9-5 wage earners. Eg – they do largeprint books for the oldies and story time for the kiddies. They also offer computers and internet for those who don’t have it at home.

It is very sad that an affluent population like Canberra can’t sustian libraries.

Well, In the current climate of declining literacy standards amongst the common folk, closing libraries is a sensible move (indeed the last International Adult Literacy Survey results had 45% of the Australian adult population as functionally illiterate by international standards, NRS levels 1 and 2).

So the Government of the Peoples Republic of Canberra closes public schools, then closes public libraries. If you have an uneducated, illiterate population, why do you need libraries?. I am waiting for the announcement of the book burning ceremony that is sure to follow, haven’t seen a good one since Berlin in the 30’s.

Maybe we could put all the books at the new gaol, or perhaps the arboretum. After all, these things are obviously far more important than services that many members of the public actually use.

So basically libraries are relevant to some (those who can’t afford internet access or to buy books) but irrelevant to most.. those who can afford books and internet access. Given that most kids would have access to school libraries and resources we can disregard them.

I would be interested in finding stats on how many new users actually became members of libraries. I was suggest it was on the side of less economic to keep them open.

I am all for readily available and free information, but if it is not being used then it is a waste of money.

You can afford to buy a book, that’s rather the point.

Also the public internet access is a major argument for the retention of public libraries

The libs won’t do any different.. or if they do they will just privatise everything…

Anyway the library system needs a re-jig… it needs to be competitive with the internet for information.. even though you could say that the interweb is pretty loose with facts, it is still fast and easy.

And personally when I want to read a book I just buy it for the most part.

Woden and Dickson are both currently doing a reduced hours survey (supposedly just a “proposed plan”) – I’d be interested to know if the results are made public…

This guvmint must go.

I suspect they will try to close Erindale, not Tuggeranong Library, as they seem to want to concentrate everything where the paid parking is! However this would have the unwanted side-effect of disadvantaging the students at E’dale College. Both Tuggers and E’dale are shared school/community libraries. I adore E’dale as it’s handy, easy to park or bus to, and not overwhelming and huge like Tuggers. Much nicer for kids too.
What is WITH these government people that they feel they must close down everything good about Canberra? Who are these crazy consultants, and how much did they cost? I am getting pretty fed up with the “strategic thinking” of this government.

Yeah just look at Amber Jane Westin

It’s obviously part of the plan to boost the ACT’s population. It works thusly…

ACT women currently have Australia’s lowest fertility rate. We also have Australia’s highest average income and education levels.

So, if we cut education by closing schools and libraries, the next generation of Canberra women will have lower levels of education.

Closing suburban schools also makes it harder for working mothers with multiple kids. (Try dropping the kids off all over town, then get to work on time, then leave work in time for the pickup run.) This encourages mothers to stay home with their kids, dropping the average income for Canberra women.

Ergo, Canberra women will have more babies because they are poorer and less educated.

Dickson Library has been deliberately run down over the years…how about a scheme where ACT citizens give good books to the library and accrue a sort of merit points system that can be offset against parking fines… we all have recent books on our shelves that we’re unlikely to read again…and the donor could have some kind of priority over borrowing back ‘their’ book…

Means Erindale as the geographic centre of the Valley (I exclude Lanyon) will get a face lift.

closing tuggeranong library? WTF??
they are so not closing down my school’s library…

Yep. always knew the goverment were on something.. (

Not to mention the reduction in hours at woden library…..

With the reduction of services, i expect a commensurate reduction in taxes.

I note my rates have risen to almost double what they were only two years ago.

I havent noticed a dramatic increase in services in the same period.

Any government fee not based on cost recovery for a specific service – is a tax.